Game Night: Munchkin Deluxe

Over the summer, Scribber and I got the chance to spend a few days with my family in Nebraska. One night after bedtime, my sister and I convinced our parents to play a board game with us! (Now, our family is NOT fond of board games, in fact it’s kind of a miracle we convinced the parents to play with us at all!) So my sister immediately jumped at the chance to play Munchkin Deluxe!

I’d heard of it a few times before, I have a few friends who are lucky to have game-playing families and are always sharing the photos of their munchkin games! (And I’m always jealous!) So it was finally my chance! This game was so awesome, even my curmudgeon of a father enjoyed it! (And he’s only really a curmudgeon when it comes to playing board games, so I feel justified in saying that. LOL! )

When you first enter the world of Munchkin? It can be a bit overwhelming and confusing, but give me a minute, I promise it’s worth it!

We purchased Munchkin Deluxe, which is the same thing as just plain “Munchkin” except it has a handy board to keep track of your level (vs having to do it on paper) and the board game feel.

But don’t let that fool you, the only thing the board is for is to make you feel like it’s a board game and to keep track of what level you’re on. The important thing here is the cards. And your imagination. (And ideally you’ve got a pretty competitive group to play with!)

Your goal is to get to level 10 by defeating monsters, backstabbing your friends and looting. The game is aimed at 3-6 players (although you *could* play with just two, provided you have enough wine…) and I’d definitely stick with the 13+ age range. In fact, I’d probably keep it for more of an adult crowd. Simply for the PG13 nature of some of the cards. (The Horny Helmet, the Knee Pads of Allure come to mind!)

The downside to this? The game can be incredibly confusing. I’d definitely recommend a bit of time to read the entire instruction booklet before your first attempt! Because of the learning curve, the first round we played took about 2 hours. (It didn’t help that we had to keep re-explaining to Grandma!!) But one we got the hang of it, average game time was about an hour.

I would definitely recommend Munchkin Deluxe to anyone who has a slightly nerdy side to them! This is the perfect game for a teen/adult game night! Especially if you’re a bit competitive and don’t mind stabbing your friends in the back!

What’s your favorite game to play on game night? (With or without the kiddos!)